Expert finds a sweet solution to electricity issues in the Caribbean

A Caribbean Island government and their sugar industry wanted to develop a solution where they could increase sugar production in the country while, at the same time, using the sugar plantation by-product to generate excess electricity. They then wanted to export that electricity onto the national grid.

An Intota expert assessed the sugarcane and bioenergy resources there to create the strategy to increase efficiency in the sugar production and increase the amount of renewable energy available to the national electric grid. This project involved working primarily with the Ministry of Energy and Mining and the sugar industry. In addition, several government agencies as well as university-based research programs were involved over the course of the project.

Two very significant outcomes came from this project. First, a strategic plan was presented to sugar producers to increase the amount of sugarcane bagasse available to generate power following sugar extraction. This solution included both methods to produce more fiber as well as optimizing the downstream use of the bagasse. Second, another plan was presented to develop a woody biomass production program based on the local environment, business climate, industrial infrastructure and the availability of suitable woody species. This plan included a long term strategy for both maximizing production of fiber and maintaining sustainability.

Expert in Fructans Processing and Agronomy
After having prepared a part of a processing plant to produce Bio-ethanol from molasses, Expert did three years of research on bio-ethanol production from feedstock producing carbohydrates, ready to be fermented; and from feedstock producing starch to be … See full profile

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6 Responses to “Expert finds a sweet solution to electricity issues in the Caribbean”

Integration and Displacement – The New Look of Biofuels. This claim by Searchinger is not entirely true: “bioenergy only reduces greenhouse gases if it results from additional plant growth or in some other way uses carbon that would not otherwise be stored.” This is over-simplification.Biofuels have a big environmental impact, because they displace fossil fuels. Recycled CO2 replaces newly mined carbon – carbon that would have been added CO2 to the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burned. Biofuel displaces newly mined Carbon with recycled CO2. Biofuels do Not have to sequester carbon into the soil to be effective. Biofuels mitigate fossil fuels. They can also be integrated to exploit waste and mitigate pollution.If we took ALL the starch, instead of just 25% of it, from our entire feed corn crop and made ethanol out of it. This would Displace 4 times the amount of fossil fuels we are currently displacing with ethanol. We are already growing the corn anyway. There would be No additional plant growth. Currently most of this excess starch is going through animals undigested, and then going to waste as methane GHG.See “Bion Environmental Technologies Plans Closed-Loop Livestock and Ethanol Production Facility in Schroeppel, NY” (Biofuels Joiurnal 12-14-09). This is a proposed large-scale livestock feeding operation that will be a game changer. The methane normally released from cattle manure will provide CHP production power for the ethanol plant. This mitigates GHG methane. And it also displaces the newly mined carbon released from the natural gas or coal, which is typically used to power ethanol refineries. Those carbon credits are spread across the ethanol and the co-products produced by the refinery.The distillers grains are not shipped to China, they are fed to the onsite or adjacent cattle. You didn’t burn dirty bunker fuel to ship it half way around the world. So adjacent use of distillers grains also improves the carbon score of biofuel. Surplus electrical power will also be fed into the grid, displacing coal and natural gas.The digester residue, leftover after the manure is processed, becomes “localized fertilizer” made from waste. That displaces centralized fossil fuel based fertilizer that would normally be shipped regionally, using fossil fuels. So credit the ethanol plant with another by product that displaces fossil fuels and newly mined carbon.The option would be to take the waste effluent and grow adjacent algae or duckweed on it. This can also be grown heterotrophically in high rise or underground tanks, for the small footprint. The algae/duckweed becomes an onsite resource of oil-carbohydrate-protein feedstock. The oil is made into localized biodiesel displacing fossil fuel diesel to grow the corn. The algae/duckweed starch is more ethanol feedstock. And the protein becomes a complete amino acid feed supplement for the cattle or for other livestock.Biofuel co-products are also feedstock for nutriceuticals and bio-plastics. We are now also exploiting the corn cobs and stover into additional fuel. One company is making biomass brickettes out of cobs and stover as a drop-in replacement for coal. This credit spreads across the corn inputs which can also improve the carbon score of ethanol. There was no additional plant growth. There was no sequestration of carbon into the soil. All we did was exploit waste into a value added product to displace fossil fuel.Besides integrating ethanol with producing cattle, we are also using this model to integrate biofuel and dairy, biofuel and poultry, biofuel and hogs, etc. This is going to give you a much better ratio of energy in to energy out. It will also increase efficiency and profit, and lower the cost of both the ethanol, the food products, and other co-products.Searchinger’s background is Attorney, Lobbyist, Political-Environmental Activist, and Biofuels Critic. His skill-set on the economics of biofuels is limited and narrow. Where he falls short is Displacement and Integration.Primarily, biofuels and their co-products displace newly mined carbon with recycled CO2. In addition, the integration of biofuels with agriculture and power generation exploits waste products and mitigates other pollutants such as methane, sulfurous compounds, black carbon soot, and acid rain, etc.. Biofuel integration is also being demonstrated at municipal landfills, sewage disposal plants, algae/ductweed farms, and industries producing waste effluent. This goes well beyond the carbon issue.

I am an agricultural student, and biofuels are all the rage. The price of corn has been driven up to $4 a bushel last I looked. Corn is a very expensive crop, both financially and ecologically to grow, and it is not a very effective plant in terms of energy conversion. We would be better off looking at switch grass and other species, and as you suggest REDUCE the usage.

Biofuels like ethanol and soy diseel have always been more carbon intensive. The farming that goes into producing the product, then transporting before it’s finally turned into a fuel. All of those are fuel intensive.

True, promoting exvtnsiee use of biofuels may further cause environmental degradation. Take ethanol, for instance, Brazil is gearing up for increased production due to the demand and it is feared that the Amazon rainforest will suffer the consequences.